Have you heard the expression "growing pains"? America was feeling growing pains between 1816 and 1850. The
population was increasing. Industries were growing and multiplying. Disagreements over issues were more numerous.
Slavery especially was becoming an issue that divided people. Americans had to adapt to may changes as the nation
experienced the pain of growth. In this unit we will learn about westward growth of the United States. We will learn about
growing industries and new inventions. We will learn about border disputes. We will learn about disagreements and the
changing political scene in the first half of the 1800s.
Read this quote from Henry David Thoreau…
"While the republic has already acquired a history world-wide, America is still unsettled and unexplored. We live only on the
shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy. The very timber of which
our hoses are made, grew but yesterday in a wilderness where the Indian still hunts and the moose runs wild."
With the War of 1812 behind it, the U.S. was on its way to expansion. At the same time, industry and farming began to
thrive in the North and the South. The country also began to address the issue of slavery and problems with bordering
European colonies. James Monroe was chosen to lead the way as the next President. Over the next few days we will learn
about westward expansion, problems of slavery, and some of the issues facing President Monroe.
Learning Targets:
1. Identify how settlers moved west and the problems they faced
2. Explain which industries developed in the North and in the South
3. Describe the Era of Good Feelings
4. Describe how slavery causes problems
5. Explain the Missouri Compromise
6. Describe the Monroe Doctrine
7. Explain what happened in the election of 1824
Westward Expansion
- James Monroe, a Democratic-Republican, was elected President by an electoral vote of 183 to 34 in 1816
- He was helped by the fact that President Madison, also a Democratic-Republican, was more popular at the end of his 2nd term
- Now, after so many victories by the Democratic-Republicans, the Federalist were finished as a political party
How Was the Country Expanding?
- Between 1790 & 1820, the population of the U.S. increased from about 4 million to nearly 10 million
- In the frontier states, the number of persons grew from 100,000 to well over 2 million during this time
- The country was rapidly expanding and its shape was changing
- The western state of Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816
- Mississippi became a state in 1817
- Illinois became a state in 1818
- Alabama became a state in 1819
- At that point, the U.S. had 22 states, an increase of 9 since the Constitution was ratified by the 13 original states
Transportation Routes
- Many settlers moved west in covered wagons along the Ohio River route to Indiana, Illinois, northern KY. & west Tenn.
- The government built the Cumberland Road leading from Maryland through Virginia in 1818
- This popular route was later extended across Ohio into Indiana and Illinois
- When the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, New Englanders could choose yet another all-water path toward the West
- This water route and the many rivers leading west became regular paths for almost 70 steamboats in common use by 1820
How Were Westerners Different?
- Settlers of the western states were not like the earlier American colonists…everyone in the western states was equal
- The western frontier was both lonely and dangerous & it was necessary for settlers to help and protect one another
- Unlike the eastern states, life on the frontier was difficult and required hard work as westerners were fiercely independent
- Many of them had been dissatisfied with their lives on the east coast
- Some westerners were new immigrants from Europe who wanted a fresh, independent start
- Love of freedom and pride in the U.S. were most important to them
- This new American spirit of nationalism grew and was a main part of life in the frontier states
Problems of Western States
- There were four problems that the western states had to face:
1. More roads were needed to improve transportation
2. Land prices had to be inexpensive and regulated by the central government
3. Loans from banks had to be available to farmers
4. Markets for farm goods had to be protected by the government
Why Was Farming Ideal in the South?
- Americans found conditions in the South to be ideal for farming
- They took advantage of the long growing season, plenty of rainfall, and broad, fertile lowlands
- The South produced crops that could be sold to other states and European countries
- Crops such as cotton, rice, sugar, tobacco, indigo, and hemp were all big profit crops
- Hemp is a plant with a tough fiber that is used for making rope & Cotton is a plant that is used to make material for clothing
- Little manufacturing was done in the South
- Most of the products needed by the southern states had to be bought from European countries
- Tariffs added to European products resulted in higher prices for goods that the South needed
Why Was Cotton Important in the South?
- Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793
- The "gin" as it was called, separated the seeds from cotton by machine rather than by hand
- Cotton was not profitable before the gin because of the labor involved to remove the seeds
- Even though African slaves had been bought and used for many years, the production of cotton was rather limited
- Cotton production was less than 100,000 bales in 1799 by 1810 the production was 200,000 bales, & nearly 400,000 by 1820
- The crop became known as "King Cotton," or white gold & cotton became so profitable that cotton growing spread westward
- More land was being used to raise more cotton & the number of African slaves also increased
- Cotton was king of the South, and slavery became increasingly important there
- Slave labor cost almost nothing and was needed for the increased cotton crops
Which Industries Developed in the North?
- The industrial development of the northern states began early in colonial days
- Fishing, shipbuilding, trading, and ironworks were all important to the Northern states
- There was little farming because of the cold Northern winters and the rocky land
- Manufacturers in the northeast wanted the gov't to keep European products out of the country as American industries grew
- They were concerned that they would have trouble competing against British products, which were less expensive to buy
- The North did benefit from the success of the cotton crop in the South
- Cotton mills in the North turned the raw cotton into thread
- One Massachusetts merchant, Francis Lowell, built a new type of water-powered spinning machine and loom
- The cotton thread was made into cloth and the cloth into articles of clothing
- These factories, as well as factories making countless other items, grew throughout the northern states
- Knowledge of manufacturing brought to America from Europe was helping create better products in a shorter amount of time
- Different political points of view were being developed as three separate regions took shape:
(The western frontier states, the southern states, and the northern New England states)